slightly, of their Maker, or his laws, natural or revealed; by such behaviour also we become accessary to the breach of this Commandment; and rank ourselves with those, whom it expressly declares "God will not hold guiltless;" that is, will not acquit, but severely punish.

Let us therefore be watchful to preserve continually such an awe of the Supreme Being upon our own minds, and those of all who belong to us, as may on every occasion effectually influence us to give him the glory due unto his name, both in our more solemn addresses to him, and in our daily words and actions. For, "God is greatly to "be feared in the assembly of the saints; and to "be had in reverence of all them that are round "about him."5

LECTURE XXI.

Fourth Commandment.

IF the worship of God were left at large to be performed at any time, too many would be tempted to defer and postpone it, on one pretence or another, till at length it would be performed at no time. And therefore, though he were to be adored only by each person separately, and in private, it would be very expedient to fix on some stated returning seasons, for that purpose. reason shows it to be requisite, and the experience of all ages proves it to be natural, that, as we are social creatures, we should be social in religion, as well as other things, and honour in common our common Maker; that we should unite in giving

(5) Psalm 1xxxix. 7.

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thanks to him for the blessings of life; a very great part of which we should be incapable of, without uniting; that we should join in praying for forgiveness of the sins which we too often join in committing; petition him together for the mereies which we have need of receiving together; and, by assembling, to learn and acknowledge our several duties, keep alive in one another, as well as ourselves, that constant regard to piety and virtue, on which our happiness depends, here and hereafter.

Since, therefore, on these accounts, there must be public worship and instruction, it is not only expedient, but necessary, that there should be also a fixed time appointed for it by sufficient authority. And how much and what time should be devoted to the purpose, every society must have determined for themselves, and would have found it hard enough to agree in determining, if God hath given no intimation of his will in the case. But happily we are informed, in the history of the creation, that the Maker of the world, having finished his work in six days, (which he could easily have finished in one moment, had it not been for some valuable reason, probably of instruction to us,) "blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it;"1 that is, appointed every return of it to be religi ously kept, as a solemn memorial, that of him, and therefore" to him, are all things."2 It is much the more natural to apprehend, that this appointment took place from the time when it is mentioned; from the time when the reason of it took place. And it is no wonder at all, that, in so short a history, notice should not be taken of the actual observation of it before Moses; for notice is not taken of it in five hundred years after Moses. Yet we know of a certainty, that in his time, at

least, it was ordered to be observed, both in this fourth Commandment, and in other parts of the law, which direct more particularly the manner of keeping it.

איי

The thing, most expressly enjoined the Jews, in each of these passages, is, resting from all manner of work; and 'not suffering their families, their cattle, or even the strangers that lived amongst them, to labour on that day. And the reason of this rest, given in the Commandment, as you have it in the book of Exodus, is, that "the Lord rested "on the seventh day" from his work of creation. Not that this, or any thing, could be a fatigue to him. For "the Creator of the ends of the earth "fainteth not, neither is weary. But the expression means, that having then finished the formation of the world, he ceased from it; and required men also to cease from their labour every seventh day; in memory of that fundamental article of all religion, that the heavens and earth were made, and therefore are governed, by one infinitely wise, powerful, and good Being. And thus was the Sabbath, which word means the day of rest, "a sign," as the Scripture calls it," between "God and the children of Israel;" a mark, to distinguish them from all worshippers of false deities.

But besides this principal reason for the repose of every seventh day, two others are mentioned in the law; that it might remind them of that deliverance from heavy bondage, which God had granted them; "remember that thou wast a ser"vant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord "brought thee out thence; therefore he com"manded thee to keep the Sabbath day;" and likewise that their servants and cattle might not be

(3) Isaiah xl. 28.

(4) Exod. xxxi. 13, 17. Ezek. xx. 12, 20. (5) Deut. v. 15.

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worn out with incessant toil; "that thine ox and "thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, "and the stranger, may be refreshed." Such mercy, indeed, is little more than common prudence; but there are, in the world, multitudes of hardhearted wretches, who would pay small regard to that consideration, were they left to their own liberty.

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Now, merely abstaining from common work on this day, in obedience to God's command, for such religious and moral ends as these, was, undoubtedly, sanctifying, or keeping it holy. But, then, we are not to suppose, that the leisure thus provided for men, was to be thrown away just as they pleased, instead of being usefully employed. God directed the Jews: "Thou shalt love the "Lord thy God with all thy soul, and with all thy might; and the words which I command "thee this day, shall be in thy heart; and thou "shalt teach them diligently unto thy children; "and shalt talk of them, when thou sittest in "thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou "risest up."7 Now, as he required them to attend so constantly to these duties, he could not but expect they should attend more especially to them on that day, when the great foundation of that duty, his creating the world, was appointed to be commemorated; and when they had nothing to take off their thoughts from what they owed to God, their Maker. There was a peculiar sacrifice appointed for that day; there is a peculiar psalm composed for it, the ninety-second; and these things are, surely, further intimations to us, that it must have been a time peculiarly intended for the offering up of prayers and thanksgivings to heaven.

(6) Exod. xxiii. 12.

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(7) Deut. vi. 5, 6, 7.

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Few, indeed, or none, of God's laws were well observed in the days of the Old Testament. But still as the Priests and Levites were dispersed through the Jewish nation, that they might teach the people religion, so we read, that in good times they did teach it accordingly; and when could this be but on the Sabbath day. We see it was the custom of religious persons, on that day, to resort to the Prophets that were in Israel; doubtless to hear the word of God from their mouths. We see public happiness promised on this condition, that men should "honour the Sabbath of "the Lord--not doing their own ways-not find"ing their own pleasure-nor speaking their own "words."9 We see absolute ruin threatened for the profanation of it. We see a time foretold, when, "from one Sabbath to another, all flesh "should come to worship before the Lord." And in consequence of this, when their captivity had taught the Jews a stricter regard to their duty, synagogues, and houses of prayer, were erected in every city; where the Maker of all things was publicly adored, and his law "read and preached 66 every Sabbath day."3

Such was the state of things when our Saviour came into the world; whose religion being intended for all mankind equally, the deliverance from Egyptian bondage, in which the Jews alone were concerned, was mentioned no longer in the divine laws; but instead of the commemoration of this, was substituted that of the redemption of the world-from the dominion and punishment of sin; which our blessed Redeemer accomplished by his death, and proved himself to have accomplished by his resurrection. Accordingly, the first day of the week, being the day of his resur

(8) 2 Kings iv. 23. (9) Isa. lviii. 13, 14. (1) Jer. xvii 27. (2) Isa. lxvi. 23.

(3) Acts xv. 21.